A lesson on contouring

"Oh it's so elusive, so technical, so way above my skill level."

If you've ever had similar thoughts about contouring, your mind is about to be changed. If you've never bothered to try this makeup artist staple because you thought it was too time-consuming or complicated, you're truly missing out! For me, I don't do full-faced makeup on a daily basis. I wear a few must-have basics like mascara, concealer, and lip gloss to my casual desk job. But, if the hubby is taking me out for a night on the town, yeah I'm gonna step it up a notch (or two, or three ...). Enter my BFF: Contouring.

Contouring has the power to sculpt and shape your face, without going under the knife or needle. It brings out your features, defines, slims, warms, and gives life to your previously dull complexion. Say hello radiance.

I pulled this photo (above) from Pinterest, courtesy of Birchbox.

1. Use an angled brush, and apply bronzer where the brown lines on the diagram above indicate: Along your jaw line, in a diagonal line beneath the apples of your cheeks, and on the outside of your nose. Blend, blend, blend.

2. Apply blush in an upward motion on the apples of your cheeks, above the bronzer (they can overlap -- be sure to blend so the contouring is not too obvious).

3. Finally, apply a highlighter above the blush toward the tops of your cheeks, beneath your brow bones (a great trick for looking younger -- hello instant brow lift), above and below your lips to bring out the fullness of them, and just a swipe down the center of your nose!

See? It's easy as one, two, three. Try it out and let me know what you think! Could you see yourself doing this regularly? Did you notice a difference? How about in photos?

Simplify your beauty routine this summer!

Hopefully, you're spending your days on sandy beaches, at backyard BBQs, or on leisurely bike rides with your one true love. Maybe you've got your toes in the sand, an adorable polka dot umbrella in one hand and a rum punch in the other. Cooler is full of watermelon and Coke in retro glass bottles, sitting on ice ... You're just perusing the latest Cosmopolitan and of course checking in with your fave beauty blog Pretty in Prestige. 

OK, so most of us working adults can only dream of such summer days, but hey, it's still summer, we've got our weekends, and tis the season for funshine (fun in the sunshine. Wear your SPF!). 

And while us beauty addicts love a sultry smokey eye, a vixen red lip, or perfectly stenciled brows, there is one cardinal rule of summer beauty: Hot summer months call for lightweight, natural makeup. Keep it light and keep it simple. That's not to say you won't go into full glamour mode for your BFF's wedding, but for your day-to-day, you need not spend more than 15 minutes on your beauty routine. 

Here are a few tips to trim down your routine to just 15 minutes or less.

All you need is an all-in-one BB cream or tinted moisturizer, cream shadow, mascara, bronzer and a tinted lip balm to create a simple, reliable go-to summer look. 

Here's what I recommend: 

1. Skip the sunscreen, primer, foundation & setting powder multi-step routine. Instead, grab a BB cream or tinted moisturizer. Most have SPF, hydration for your skin, and don't require primer. Check out the Skin79 BB Creams (I believe there's a linked photo in the right column, or just Google them), and for a tinted moisturizer, check out NARS in your local Sephora or online.

2. Instead of priming eyelids, followed by powder, contouring, blending in the crease, highlighting the brows, etc. etc. etc. ... keep eye makeup simple with a long-lasting cream eyeshadow instead, like Tarte's Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow. Tip: apply with a flat synthetic brush, not your fingers. Fingers will deposit oil onto the lids and will cause the eyeshadow to fade quicker. Or hey, skip this step and go to step 3. After bronzing your face, dust a little on your eyes too! Voila -- eye shadow in a hurry. Follow up with your fave mascara, of course.

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3. Warm up your entire complexion with a natural-looking bronzer. You can forgo the blush and dust the bronzer on your cheeks instead. I love Tarte's Park Ave Princess, MAC's Hey Sailor bronzer in Refined Golden, or Physician's Formula (for a budget-friendly alternative). 

4. Bring your lips to life with a tinted lip balm. Just a touch of color, lots of hydration. Just what we need this time of year. Burt's Bees offers some pretty ones available at your local drugstore -- love these and love everything Burt's. Maybelline's Baby Lips are an absolute hit and selling off the shelves; haven't tried those suckers yet but I hear wonderful things! Also, Fresh's sugar lip balm is a best seller for a reason, and the tinted one looks great on anyone, and even has SPF. My husband thinks sugar lips tastes good too! Check it out at Sephora.

If you followed these quick and easy steps, you can look like this girl! Woo!

MAC HEY SAILOR BRONZING POWDER (Refined Golden) -- Hello summertime!

               

Here's an up-close-an-personal for ya! You can see a little bit of the gold; it's very subtle. Adds a healthy glow.

MAC-LOVERS! How cute is the packaging for the Hey Sailor products?! With navy and white nautical stripes and gold writing, what's not to love? The bronzing powder I picked up to kick off summer (Refined Golden) cost me $24, and it comes in a pretty circular compact. I applied using an Eco Tools Bronzing Brush, but if you like a very subtle application of bronzer, try a fan brush.

The shade is a perfect bronze -- not orange, not littered with chunks of glitter. It's got small flecks of gold that add just a hint of luminosity to the face, or should I say, a summer sun-kissed glow. It looks pretty by itself instead of using blush, or you can use it to contour your face, drawing a 3 on each side of your face, letting the brush sweep from the top of your forehead, along the temple, just under the cheek bones and along the jaw. I give this MAC bronzer my kiss of approval for a great summer buy.